Mending Broken Hearts
by melzabelza
Summary: Violet is suffering the aftereffects of an abusive exboyfriend who just won't leave her alone. Roman is struggling to adjust to living with the haunting memories of his time in the Marines. Can they come together to help each other become whole again? Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Antonio Cesaro and AJ Lee plus OC Rated M for future violence, language and smut
1. Starting Over

Roman was cramped in a little folding chair in the small room with all of the other new hires listening to the human resources person discuss benefit plans and vacation time and the drug policy. None of it really interested him, he had benefits from the military, he never did drugs and he did more than enough travelling to last a life time, so he didn't care how much vacation time he got. He was dying to stand up and stretch his legs and back, he was 6'3" and 265 pounds of solid muscle, men like him were not made for sitting in tiny folding chairs for hours at a time. Just when he thought the HR guy was winding down, the head of the safety department came in, he would have to sit through another hour of industrial and laboratory safety training videos. Goddamn it, if he could survive over a year in a war zone with IEDs and crazy religious zealots with machine guns, he figured he could handle keeping himself alive at a little pharmaceutical plant.

"Thank you all for your attention, I understand these videos are cheesy, I hope you will all keep safe. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. Someone from your departments will be in shortly to take you to your work space." Oh thank the good lord in heaven, Roman was finally able to stand up, he was rolling out his neck when the door popped open and the HR guy was back, with a few others behind him. His eyes focused on her immediately, she was short and curvy, dark black hair tied up into a messy ponytail, intense brown eyes behind a cute pair of glasses, she was wearing dark jeans and a blue collared shirt with the standard safety boots and hideous yellow safety vest. She was chatting politely with the others until they both heard a loud familiar voice, Dean Ambrose, the head of security and Roman's former Marine buddy came strutting into the room. Almost everyone scurried away as soon as they saw him, Dean always had a knack for clearing a room, he was one of those guys that you either loved or hated.

"Hey, half pint, you keeping out of trouble?" He said as he ruffled her hair.

"Who, me? It's not my fault trouble finds me! You got a newbie here too, huh?" He chuckled and leaned against her using her head as an armrest. "Hey! Knock it off or I am going to tell Leslie on you!"

"Ouch! Low blow, no fair, no ratting me out to my wife! She'll kick my ass!"

Roman shook his head, he still had a hard time believing that Big Bad Dean Ambrose was settled down with a woman. Leslie was perfect for him, she didn't take any of his crap but at the same time she didn't smother him, and his old buddy was happy as a clam. He waved him over just as the HR guy pointed the woman to a man sitting at the other end of the table.

"See ya, Vi, enjoy your new nerd!" She rolled her eyes at Dean and walked over to the man, shook his hand and walked out with him.

Dean strolled over to him and fist bumped, "How was your first day of hell, big guy?"

"Better now that I saw her. Who is she?"

"Violet? Oh, she works over in the lab, she's a chemist. That chick is a piece of work! She cracks me up." Roman looked at his buddy and waited, Dean knew what he wanted to hear, he was just being a jerk and holding back. "OK, ok, don't burn a hole in my skull! Yes, she is single. But, take it slow, alright? She, uh, she's had a rough time."

* * *

"Hi Antonio! I'm Violet. AJ asked me to come by and bring you back over to the lab." She shook is his hand and tried to ignore the man talking with Dean. He was hard to miss, she zoned in on him as soon as the door opened, he was built like a brick wall, long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail and arms that could probably lift a house. He was discretely stretching his neck and she could see the muscles rippling under his shirt. He had his shirt sleeves pushed up slightly and she was pretty sure she eyed some tribal ink around his wrist. No, Violet, you are done with men, just put him out of your head, he's just another security guard. Although, Dean seems to know him, maybe they served together? Well, if he was buddies with Dean, he was probably an arrogant assclown anyway. She would still try to go visit Leslie after she was done showing Antonio around. Speaking of men, he was easy on the eyes too… Antonio Cesaro was tall and obviously very muscular under his khaki pants and button down shirt, he was bald, although she couldn't tell if it was by choice or not. He also wore glasses, thin silver frames, but still, that just added fuel to the fire - all three chemists and their boss wore glasses, Ambrose started calling them the Nerd Squad and many others picked up on it.

"So, here's the lab. AJ is in a management meeting this afternoon, she'll meet with you in the morning. Yo! Seth, get over here and meet Antonio!" Seth looked up from his notes and strolled over to where they were standing, he was not even close to your typical chemistry nerd. Seth Rollins was tall and muscular and had long brown hair, although for some reason he started bleaching a chunk of it. He always wore skinny jeans and a band tshirt under his lab coat. They had been friends in college and were lucky enough to work together, between the two of them, they pretty much ran the research and development, or R&D, lab at the facility. They were swamped though and they were thrilled that their boss, AJ Lee, finally approved their request for an extra chemist. There wasn't much time left in the day, so Violet and Seth helped Antonio get settled in his corner of the lab. "Tomorrow after you are done meeting with AJ, I'll give you a tour of the whole facility. Then the three of us can sit down and go over all of the work that needs to get done and get you started on some projects that we have been putting on hold. There is a ton of work to do."

"Oh, and, we alternate washing all the glassware at the end of the day," Seth added, "We also take turns running all the analyses required for the permit." Seth handed him a list, "It's pretty typical stuff, boring as hell, but our top priority since we don't want to get shut down by the state."

Antonio nodded in agreement as he took in his two new coworkers, he had a feeling he would fit in very well here, they weren't your typical chemists by any means. They both seemed very easygoing and he was hoping to slide right in. He couldn't wait to get started working on some things.

* * *

Violet pulled into her driveway as she heard her phone buzz, it was probably Leslie, she never did make it over to her office to gossip about all the new hires. She dug her phone out of her bag and smiled, yup, it was Leslie!

_"Did you see the new guy in security? How's your new nerd?"_

_"My new guy seems OK. Too soon to tell. Yeah, saw the security guy… seems he is a buddy of Dean's?"_

_"Yup. Same unit in the Marines."_

She nodded as she read the text message, she assumed correctly. She tapped out a reply as she walked up to her front door, she was just about to unlock it when she saw the note hanging there. The handwriting was instantly familiar and it sent chills down her spine. She ripped it off the door, looked around and ran back to her car, dialing Leslie as she locked her car door and cranked the engine. He just wouldn't give up, he would leave her alone just long enough for her to start to relax and then he would pull some stupid shit.

* * *

Dean suggested that they grab a drink after work, to celebrate Roman's first day in his first civilian job. Dean was giving him the lowdown on their fellow coworkers when his phone rang, he looked at the display and grinned, "Heya, sweet thang, what's shakin?"

Roman rolled his eyes and finished his beer becoming concerned he saw his friend's expression go sour. "Is she ok? Do you need me to come home?" Dean swore under his breath and clenched his fist, "She report it? Alright Les, I'll be home in few. No, it's fine, beer is almost gone anyway."

"Bro, everything ok? Haven't seen you this pissed in years."

"Yeah, friend of ours is having trouble with an ex. Fucker is tormenting the poor thing."

"Go home. I'll see you at work in the morning. Let me know if I can help at all." They fist bumped and Dean picked up the tab.

* * *

Violet was a mess, Leslie had her wrapped in a blanket on their couch with a cup of hot tea. Dean was on his way back home after checking out her place and talking to the cops who responded to the call. The note was definitely from Jake, Violet already memorized it and the words ran through her head over and over again. It wasn't anything new, just more of the same threats that he used to scream at her when they were dating. The fact that it was in writing instead of in person didn't make it any easier to handle, as she read the note she could hear the hate in his voice as he spit out insult after insult and threatened to kill her.

Dean came in and sat next to her on the couch, he was furious at this asshole, but he managed to calm himself down before going inside to see Violet. He hoped he never saw Jake again because he knew that there was no way he would be able to resist smashing his skull in.

"Hey, half pint, your place is safe, he didn't get inside, just taped the note to your door, that's it."

"But how did he find out where I live?" She handed Dean her now cold tea and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Easy there, Vi, we do have tissues you know." She glared at him and he ruffled her hair to try to redeem himself, "They don't know, but it's a blatant violation of the restraining order, so as soon as they find him, they will throw his ass in jail."

He grabbed the box of tissues off the coffee table and handed one to her, she blew her nose and sighed, "Right, just like all the other times, he'll spend the night in a cell and then his brother will bail him out and he will start tormenting me again."

Dean sighed, she was right and it killed him. Vi and Leslie were best friends and she was like a kid sister to him, he wished he could protect her better. "Stay here tonight. We will drive to work together in the morning and I will check out your place before I let you go home."

Violet was frustrated and angry and just plain fed up. She got a new place and installed a top of the line security system, all of her mail went to a post office box instead of her condo and she went through the police department and reported every single incident with Jake since the night he put her in the hospital. Seth, Dean and Leslie have been there for her every step of the way, but she was getting tired of relying on them, she wanted to be a grownup and get on with her life. But, here she was crashing at her friends' house again.

"Vi! Come on, you have to at least try to eat something," Leslie shouted from the kitchen. "I made macaroni and cheese, no one can say no mac n' cheese!"

"But I don't wanna get up, the couch is so comfy!" she whined.

Dean chuckled, "Hate to break it to you kiddo, but if she won't let me eat dinner on the couch, no way you will get to either."

"Must you call me kiddo?"

"You keep whining like that and yeah, you'll leave me no choice!" He reached out to help her up from the couch, "Come on, you know how amazing Leslie's mac n' cheese is. We don't want it to get cold."

* * *

Roman walked into his tiny apartment and flipped on the light, he tossed his keys on the little table by the door and skimmed through the mail, nothing important. He should probably eat something for dinner, that beer was burning a hole in his empty stomach. He rummaged through the frig and looked through the Tupperware containers that Leslie insisted he take home with him. Ever since he got out of the Marine Corps and settled into his own place Dean and Leslie insisted on checking up on him, yeah he was having a rough time after that last mission, but he could manage to feed himself just fine. He didn't want to hurt Leslie's feelings though, she loved to cook and he really did appreciate the leftovers. He grabbed a container of beef stew and tossed it in the microwave, he would have to find a way to show them how much he appreciated their concern.

He plopped down on the couch with his dinner and flipped on the TV looking for any sports, he settled for a basketball game. This apartment was way too quiet, maybe he should get a dog. Dogs are nice company, then of course he would have to share his beef stew. His mind wandered to his conversations with Dean today, he was pretty pissed when he left the bar, he should shoot him a text message to make sure everything was OK. Then he thought about Violet, god, she was cute, he wondered what Dean meant when he said she had been through a tough time. Was she the same friend that Dean rushed off to help? He grabbed his phone, _"Hey man, just checking in. Everything OK?"_

Roman hated sitting in this stupid apartment alone, after he finished eating he changed into gym clothes and went to work out. Luckily there was a 24 hour gym close by, it didn't have the best equipment, but it was perfect for nights like these when he just couldn't tolerate sitting in front of the TV. An hour of lifting followed by some cardio should be enough to wear him down so that he could fall asleep, although falling asleep wasn't the problem, it was dreamless sleep that was always just out of reach. He refused to take the sleeping pills that the base doctor prescribed for him, he took the prescription just to avoid an argument but he tossed the slip in the trash as soon as he got home.

The gym was empty as usual, it was after 9 PM, and that suited him just fine. He didn't feel like making small talk or spotting anyone while they lifted a puny amount of weight or taking turns on the machines. He was free to move through the weight machines at his own pace, he was in the zone and the time passed quickly. Once he finished his strength training he chose a treadmill under the air conditioning vent and started running until his legs got numb.

He checked his phone after he got off the treadmill, Dean had replied _"Yeah, everything is alright. Thanks. Sorry to bail on you like that."_ And then an hour later Dean sent another text _"No reply to my heartfelt apology? Don't tell me you are at the gym again?"_

Roman smirked, _"Of course I am at the gym, I don't want to get soft like you."_

_"Soft?! Who you calling soft? Watch it bro, or I won't let my woman send you anymore leftovers!"_

Roman almost laughed out loud, like Dean could ever stop Leslie from feeding her friends, _"Yeah right, because she would trust me to feed myself. She thinks I'll starve to death if I am left on my own."_

_"In all seriousness, I might need your help tomorrow doing some recon."_

_"Anything for you, bro. This have to do with your friend?"_

_"Yeah. And if we come across him, you'll have to make sure I don't get arrested for beating his ass."_

Roman was worried about his friend, he talked a big game and wouldn't start a fight. But the way he looked when he left the bar, the fight already started and Dean was going to be the one to finish it. _"If I let you get arrested, Leslie with totally stop feeding me. I got your back!"_

He tossed his crap in the car and and drove home. He stripped and jumped into a scalding hot shower pulling his sweaty hair out of the elastic band. He was shampooing his hair and trying not to worry too much about his buddy. He surprised himself when his thoughts drifted back to Violet. He would have to find a reason to get over to the lab tomorrow.


	2. Set Up

Roman strolled into the security office exactly ten minutes early, he clocked in and set off to find Dean. He was determined to get more information out of him about this guy he was supposed to prevent Dean from beating the hell out of and what the connection to Violet was. He found Dean in his office muttering profanities at his computer screen.

"Damn bro, this is something I never thought I'd see. Dean Ambrose putting in extra hours. You're the baddest man alive Ambrose!"

"Fuck you, you Samoan bastard!" He growled.

Roman double over laughing and folded his body into one of Dean's guest chairs. "This uniform is hideous. I mean, kaki cargo pants? Come on bro, no one will take us seriously when we are all dressed in kakis."

"I didn't pick them. Came from Administration. Deal with it."

"Well aren't we just a ray of sunshine this morning, Mr. Ambrose..."

Dean finally looked up from his computer screen and Roman could see how tired he was, "Sorry man, was up all night. Leslie was all worked up about this shit with our friend and her asshole ex."

Roman nodded his head, his friend looked like he had more to say. "First she wants me to find him and break every bone in his body, then she is too worried that I will lose my temper and kill him and go to jail and then she'll never have sex again. And then she is crying because Vi… I mean, her friend, is scared and will probably never trust another man again as long as she lives which means she will never have sex again unless she becomes a lesbian, which, I think is hot as hell, but I got slapped for stating that opinion."

"I would have slapped you for that comment too."

"What? I'd watch that… hell yeah, you can't say you wouldn't." Dean shook his head, "Roman, you are a boring man, I am not sure we can be friends anymore."

The two men were quiet for a while until Dean punched his desk, "The bastard is stalking her. Restraining order doesn't do shit."

"Alright, Ambrose, what can I do? Will I need my sniper rifle?"

Dean snorted, "No way. That's too good for this guy. He deserves to see it coming, to feel fear and pain. Beg for mercy."

Roman was speechless, he heard pure hate in his friend's voice. He would have to keep a close eye on this situation.

* * *

Violet was wiped out, she never really slept well at Leslie's place, their futon had a mattress that was paper thin and the guest bedroom faced the street so the outside light always seemed to shine right in her face. And of course, she had nightmares about Jake. She sighed and took another sip of her extra-large coffee, maybe she should have gotten that turbo shot. She heard Seth and Antonio chatting as they came in and tried to make herself look slightly human for the new guy's benefit.

"Look alive Vi! We gotta break in the new guy!" Seth hollered as he walked into their office area. The three of them would share an open office space, they each had their own desk separated by low cubicle walls. The lab had three areas for them to work and there was a large break area with a coffee pot, microwave, sink and a couple of tables.

Violet looked at Seth and shook her head, it really was a good thing they didn't have a dress code, and even better that whatever they wore was usually covered by an ugly lab coat anyway. Seth was wearing skin tight black jeans and yet another band tshirt. His beard was scruffy and his hair was a mess. "Jesus Seth, you need some hair care products or something…"

Seth used his cellphone screen to check out his reflection, "What? Its not that bad…"

Violet rolled her eyes, "I've seen neater looking homeless people… I have gel in my locker if you want. You may want to consider buying a razor though."

"Violet, you are just jealous of my stunning good looks."

She snorted and turned her attention to Antonio, at least he looked dressed for a work place, navy blue dress pants and a black polo shirt, both perfectly hugged his muscular body, now that would be a shame to cover up with a lab coat!

"Morning, Antonio. I grabbed you a spare lab coat and we have plenty of boxes of disposable gloves, I am assuming you'll wear an XL like Sasquatch over here," she said jerking her head in Seth's direction. "Eventually you will get a bunch of fancy lab coats with your name embroidered on them. I know, it's thrilling, isn't it?"

Just then AJ Lee stormed in and screamed at Violet to join her in her office. Violet sighed, just what she needed today. She grabbed her coffee and rolled her eyes at Seth, "May the Force be with you," he solemnly whispered.

AJ had a vendetta against her ever since she had to stoop beneath her pay level and fill in for Vi while she was in the hospital. It was just over a month and according to Seth it was a nightmare, she ranted and raved to anyone who would listen, the travesty of a management level person running lab samples and doing data entry, its not like she was asked to clean toilets. So now, AJ would yell and scream at Violet every chance she got, the fact that they had to go over her head to request a new chemist just made matters even worse.

"Good morning, boss" she said as she perched on the edge of the guest chair across from AJ's desk.

"It's up to you to train the new guy," AJ barked at her without even looking up from her computer, "Now get out of my office so I can get some work done." Violet shook her head and walked out. She was already planning on training Antonio with some help from Seth, she knew what needed to be done and didn't need to be told. She walked back into their shared office area and couldn't help but laugh at the looks on her coworkers faces, if Seth were a puppy, his tail would be between his legs! And poor Antonio, he would probably have nightmares about Ms. Lee tonight.

"Relax guys. She's not gonna leave her office today, besides, I'm in the number one slot on her shit list, no matter what happens, it will be my fault anyway." She sighed and thought for a minute about what needed to get done today. "Seth you show Antonio how to log in and set up the permit samples, I'll read the results from yesterday and do some data entry."

Seth nodded and headed towards the lab area, Violet shook her head and smiled when she heard him ask Antonio what kind of music he liked. Yeah, the three of them were going to get along just fine.

* * *

Violet stood up from her computer and stretched her stiff back and neck, she had been punching numbers into the database for almost 2 hours now. The boys were still hard at work in the lab area so she decided to take a tea break. She was still stretching out her neck when Ambrose appeared with his hot as hell new security guard. "Well, look, if it isn't my favorite nerd! What's shakin, Vi?"

Violet shook her head at Dean, "Not so loud! Boss lady is on the war path today." She rolled her eyes at him when he laughed, "Can you at least pretend that you are a professional?"

The tall man let out a chuckle and it was the sexiest thing Violet had ever heard, she felt waves of desire shooting through her stomach straight down to her lady parts. Dean rolled his eyes, oblivious to the effect his buddy had on her, "Well, I guess I should introduce you two… Violet, this is Roman Reigns, he's my new security expert. He'll be working on the emergency evacuation plans as well as doing the normal security rounds. Roman, this is Violet Miller, she's a nerd."

Roman shook hands with Violet and immediately noticed how soft her hand was and how small it looked inside his, he suddenly had this unexplainable urge to protect her. He smiled at her, "Well, I am sure 'Nerd' isn't your official job title."

Violet licked her suddenly parched lips and stuttered, quickly removing her hand from his and wrapping it back around her tea mug, "Umm, well, Uhh… No, actually, I'm the head chemist, but for meat heads like Ambrose here, nerd is much easier to understand."

Roman laughed again, damn, he liked this woman! "Meat head, ha, never heard a better description for this guy."

Dean smirked, "Well, since you two seem to be getting along so well, I'll leave you to it. Vi, can you give Roman a tour of the lab and go over the evac routes?" Violet nodded, "Good, go over the fire safety and chemical storage stuff too."

They all jumped when they heard AJ screaming profanities from her office and slamming her phone down. "Shit, you weren't kidding," Dean shuttered "I'm outta here, I've never been so scared of an anorexic twelve year old before." He walked out of the lab and winked at Roman, his plan worked, these two are perfect for each other, they just need to be pushed together in order to realize it. He couldn't wait to tell Leslie the way the sparks started flying as soon they shook hands, it was like something out of one her stupid chick movies!

Violet watched Dean strut out of the lab and shook her head, "Sometimes I wonder why I am friends with that guy."

Roman nodded, "I hear ya. Leslie is a saint!"

Violet laughed, "Tell me about it! Come on let me show you around the lab."

Roman grinned, that laugh was music to his ears. He turned to follow her out of the break room when he noticed how her ass filled out her pants and the way her hips swayed when she walked. He felt his cock twitch in his pants. Focus, Reigns, now is not the time. Stop staring at her ass. His phone buzzed in his pocket, he apologized to Violet and pulled it out, rolling his eyes when he read Dean's message: _"Bro, you checking out her ass yet? You can thank me later!"_

"Let me guess," Violet said, "with an eye roll like that, it can only mean that message is from Mr. Meat Head himself."

"Yeah, well, Mr. Meat Head can wait, let's get this lab tour started." He replied and directed his eyes anywhere except Violet's ass.

* * *

Violet, Leslie and Seth planned to meet up for drinks after work. They were sitting in their favorite bar at a booth in the corner and just put in their drink order, the girls got their usual frozen drinks and Seth ordered whatever beer was on tap tonight.

"Why couldn't we go out for dinner instead? I am starving. I would kill for a burger and fries right about now." Violet said.

"Oh come on, Vi," Leslie said, "You have plenty of lasagna at home from our weekend cooking marathon. But you can't make a pina colada like this place does!"

"Yeah, but, I need more than an orange slice and a couple of cherries to soak up all the alcohol."

"So, Vi, who is that big dude from security?" Seth interrupted

"Big?! He's fucking massive! I feel like a child standing next to him. His name is Roman. He'll be around at lot. Seems like he is reviewing all the evacuation plans."

"He wants in your pants big time," Seth said as their drinks came.

"No way," Violet shook her head and popped one of the maraschino cherries in her mouth.

"And why not, woman?" Leslie chimed in.

"First of all, I am OFF men, I am DONE. D.O.N.E. DONE! No more men for me," Violet said, "Secondly, look at that guy! I mean, he is like a god or something, why the hell would he be interested in me?"

Seth frowned at his friend, "Violet, you are too mean to yourself. You are beautiful."

"He's right, Vi," Leslie added "Besides, Roman isn't like that, he's a really good guy. Dean trusts him with his life."

"That doesn't mean he isn't a heartbreaker." Violet shook her head, "Don't get any ideas Leslie, do not even think about trying to fix us up!"

"Too late for that," Seth said nodding towards the door as Roman and Dean walked in. Leslie waved and the two men walked over.

* * *

Roman thought it was suspicious that Dean invited him out for drinks two nights in a row, but when he saw Leslie at the table with Violet and that other guy from the lab he knew for a fact that he was being set up. He was pretty sure he'd really enjoy getting to know Violet on a very intimate level, but he was also sure that she deserved better than a war damaged head case like him.

"Hey sexy," Dean said leaning over to give his woman a kiss. "Roman, you met Violet today, this is Seth, one of her fellow nerds."

"Hey, man, welcome to the nut house," Seth said

Dean squeezed into the booth next to his woman, leaving the only empty space next to Violet. Roman slid in next to her and tried not to squish her, she was so tiny and cute.

Violet scooted closer to Seth when Roman slid in next to her, having him near her made her heart race and her hands shake, she couldn't even pick up her drink, she was too scared that she would spill it. She almost wet herself when he put his arm across the back of the booth behind her. He wasn't touching her, but If she leaned back just right… Violet, stop it, just stop. No more men, remember?

Dean grinned at his woman when she squeezed his knee under the table, he accomplished two things tonight – he put Vi and Roman next to each other and he could scope out the bar to see if Jake was still stalking Vi. And, the added bonus of brownie points with his woman, tonight would be epic, if all went smoothly.


	3. Surprise!

A few weeks had gone by and everyone seemed to settle into a status quo. Antonio was a perfect fit in the lab, he worked with Seth and Violet as if he'd known them for years. He even started stocking one of the drawers in the break room with fancy chocolates for when AJ was on the war path, it became a routine, whoever got ripped a new one was allowed to indulge in a piece of candy. Needless to say, Violet was afraid she'd develop diabetes, because not only did she need chocolate after getting reamed out by AJ, but she also needed chocolate after every single encounter with Roman. She saw him almost every day between the typical security detail rounds and the planning meetings for the plant-wide evacuation plan. AJ was supposed to be taking the lead on the project, but she claimed she was totally swamped and dumped it all on Violet.

At least she knew she wouldn't see that sexy beast tonight, she had two hours of MMA ahead of her, intermediate level kickboxing and grappling. As soon as she healed enough from Jake's attack, Dean insisted that she learn to defend herself, she thought it was a great idea but was too timid to go on her own. The dojo offered a women's self-defense class, so she went with Leslie. She was hooked instantly and signed up for beginner's kickboxing before leaving that night. She had been going to classes three times a week for almost a year now and she loved it. She wasn't totally convinced that she could fight off Jake but she could certainly blow off some steam pounding on the punching bags.

After grappling was over, the Sensei called everyone to attention, someone had advanced a level and was getting a new belt today. The whole class was buzzing with excitement. Sensei talked about how this student trained very hard in the last year and overcame many obstacles and personal demons and he was honored to be able to reward this student with a low blue belt. Violet looked around at her classmates, many of them were high white belts or blue belts, she couldn't wait to see who had advanced. She could hardly believe her ears when Sensei called her name and asked her to step forward.

She bowed to her Sensei and put her arms out at her sides, he removed her high white belt and replaced it with the low blue belt. She turned around and bowed to her class as they erupted into a round of applause. Violet knew her cheeks were bright red, she wasn't used to this kind of attention, but she was beyond giddy. She said goodbye to some of her classmates and grabbed her bags from her locker, she was all sweaty and gross, but she wanted to show Dean and Leslie right away, she debated calling them first, but knew they'd be home, it was early enough where they were probably still eating dinner and hopefully were still completely dressed.

She parked in front of the Ambrose house, blocking the driveway, and ran up the front steps, she leaned on the doorbell hopping from one foot to the other like a sugar crazed toddler. Finally Leslie opened the front door.

"Jeebus, Violet, keep your pants on, what's the big rush?"

She pushed past her friend into the house "Is Dean here? I have to show you guys something!"

"What's up half pint?" Dean said as he leaned down to give her a hug, "Shit, Vi, you smell like dirty gym socks. What the hell?"

She punched him in the gut and giggled as he pretended to double over in pain. Then she triumphantly took of her coat and showed off her new belt, "I made low blue belt tonight!"

Leslie squealed and they both started jumping up and down clapping their hands, Dean shook his head, "Great job, kiddo. I'm proud of you."

"Hey what's all the celebrating about?" Roman asked as he strolled out of the kitchen.

Violet heard his voice and froze, oh crap, he's here too. That would explain the extra car in the driveway.

Leslie spoke up first, "Violet just stopped by to show us her low blue belt. And luckily, she's in time for dinner."

"Oh, no, I, I can't stay tonight, Les, I reek, I mean, just ask Dean, he's been holding his nose since I walked in."

Leslie shrugged, "So, go upstairs and take a shower. You have 20 minutes and I know you left some spare clothes here."

"Yeah, come on kiddo, stay and celebrate with us! Leslie made pot roast and the big man brought dessert."

Violet knew there was no way she was getting out of this, so she stomped upstairs.

* * *

Violet was wrapped in Leslie's fleece robe tearing through her overnight bag that she had left in the guest bedroom, this could NOT be the only things she left here. Shit, all she had was a pair of yoga pants, a bra and a tank top. No panties, not even a grimy old pair of granny panties, Roman was downstairs and she was going to have to go commando, in yoga pants. She grabbed her phone and sent Leslie a text message.

_"Help! I need to borrow a really long hoodie!"_ She huffed at her phone waiting for Leslie's response.

_"I have one in the hall closet, just come down and get it."_

What? Go down? No way. _"Can't you bring it up to me? Please!"_

_"Why are you freaking out?"_

She rolled her eyes at the phone _"I don't have clean undies, you can see my ass through my yoga pants!"_

A minute later the door to the guest room opened and Leslie tossed in a giant hoodie, looked at Vi, busted out laughing and walked out.

"It's not funny!" Violet shouted after her, but, really, it kinda was.

* * *

Dean was putting an extra dish on the table for Violet when Roman slapped him upside the head. "Fuck! What was that for?"

"You planned this, didn't you?"

"Ha! Come on, Ro, I'm not even that good."

Roman raised his eyebrow at his buddy, "The next time you call me Ro, I'll kick your ass."

"Yeah, and I'll help!" Roman turned to see Violet standing at the bottom of the stairs, she was wearing black yoga pants and the biggest hoodie he had ever seen, the damned thing came down to her knees. She had pushed her wet hair away from her face with a cute pink headband and she was barefoot. She looked stunning, he licked his lips at the thought of all the things he could do with her…

"Oh, Little Miss Blue Belt thinks she's tough, huh?" Dean said pulling Roman out of his fantasy.

"Yeah, well, with me holding you down, she can do some serious damage." Roman challenged.

"Bring it on! I'm not scared of you two!" Dean put his fists up and started bouncing on the balls of his feet. Violet started laughing and Roman just couldn't help but laugh with her, she was so cute and her laugh was contagious.

"OK, I obviously missed something," Leslie said placing a big dish on the table, she looked at both Violet and Roman and then at her husband, "Are they threatening to kick your ass again?"

Dean tried his best to look offended, "Aww, come on woman, aren't you going to defend me?"

"Hell no! I'm gonna make popcorn and enjoy the show! Now sit your asses down and eat before it all gets cold. That crock pot worked hard to make us this meal."

They all sat down and started passing the serving dishes, all talking stopped as they were busy eating. The food was so good that Violet almost forgot she was sitting next to Roman with no panties on.

Dean looked at the empty dishes on the table, "Sorry bro, no leftovers for you take home tonight. Vi ate everything!"

"Hey!" Violet yelled, "I trained for two hours tonight! What's your excuse?"

Roman almost died, two hours, "See, Ambrose, I told you that you were getting soft! Violet can outlast you in the gym!"

Violet tried not to giggle like a schoolgirl, Roman was hot and his voice did things to her, she could listen to him talk for hours. She stood up and started clearing the table, "Let's go Ambrose, Leslie cooked, the least you can do is help clean up."

"Nope! You sit down Vi, I need to be alone in the kitchen with my woman." He smirked at Leslie.

"Yeah, you two go sit on the couch or something, relax." She said and took the dirty dishes out of Violet's hands. Leslie laughed as her friend just stood there staring at her with her mouth hanging open.

Her mind was racing, sit on the couch, next to Roman, without any panties on, I hope my breath doesn't smell, what if I have meat stuck between my teeth? Dean put both hands on her shoulders, spun her around and shoved her in the direction of the living room.

They sat on opposite sides of the couch, Violet with her legs curled under her and her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and Roman with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He was wearing short sleeves and for the first time she could see that his tattoo was probably a full sleeve, she ached to reach out and trace it with her fingertips.

Roman broke the silence first, "So, you take MMA classes?" He gave himself a mental head slap, of course she takes MMA classes she came running in with her new belt, dumbass.

Violet nodded her head, "Yeah, almost a year now."

Roman was impressed, "Wow and you already have your low blue belt. That's fast."

"Yeah, well, I had some good motivation. And I go three nights a week. Working the bag is a great way to relieve stress."

"I believe it. I did some martial arts when I was in Marines."

"Really?" Violet looked up at him, "That's cool, what type of martial arts did you take?"

"The Marines developed their own martial arts training program, its mostly for hand to hand combat and field techniques," He said looking over at Violet, he thought she was just making small talk, but she look genuinely interested.

"Is the belt structure the same?" She asked.

"Naw, it's a little different, can't wear the bright colors with fatigues," he said, she giggled.

"Well? Don't be modest, what color belt do you have?"

Roman hesitated, "I have a black belt, 6th degree. Towards the end of my enlistment period I was training the new recruits."

Now it was Violet who was impressed, "Those poor souls. How many did you scare away?"

Roman tossed his head back and laughed harder than he ever remembered laughing, "Enough!"

* * *

Dean and Leslie heard Roman's booming laugh in the kitchen, Dean grinned at his wife, "I know for a fact, that I never heard the big man laugh like that before."

Leslie agreed, "And look at Violet, she is smiling and laughing too. Just wait until she sees that he brought cherry cheesecake. If she wasn't in love with him already, she will be now!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes, "Maybe we should give them a few more minutes alone."

"Woman, you read my mind," he said as he leaned down and kissed her lips, thrusting his tongue in her mouth when she moaned. "I can't wait to kick them out of the house, baby, you are gonna be moaning all night long."

"I like the sound of that!" She said as she pushed away from him, "Let's feed them their cake and get them out."

"Wait, what's the deal with Vi? Why is she wearing my hoodie?" Dean asked.

Leslie snickered, "She didn't have any clean undies in her overnight bag!"

Dean laughed until he had tears in his eyes. "Now that's the funniest thing I've heard all day! Our sweet little Vi is going commando!"

* * *

After they finished their cake Dean shot Roman a look from across the table. Ha! He wanted to get busy with his woman, he could take a hint. He stood up, "Leslie, thanks again for another delicious meal."

"Any time Roman!"

He nodded at Dean "Have a good night, bro, see you at work."

Violet jumped up, "Oh! I think my car is blocking you in! Hang on, let me find my shoes and we can leave together."

Leaving with Violet sounded like a great idea, but he knew that's not what she meant. He watched as she gathered her things and slipped her shoes on. They all said their goodbyes and Roman held the door for her. They walked out together and tried not to laugh at Dean and Leslie peeking through the blinds watching them.

"They could be a little less obvious," Violet muttered.

Roman chuckled, "Ambrose never was very subtle."

They stopped by her car and Roman opened the driver's side door for her. "It, uh, seeing you tonight was a nice surprise," he said softly.

"Huh? Me?" Violet looked up at him, "Um, yeah, I probably should have called first, I was just a little too excited."

Roman smiled at her, she was so cute, "Don't apologize, I'm happy you came over. And that's quite a reason to be excited."

They stood there for a while just looking at each other, Roman was so tempted to lean down and kiss her, but he was not going to put on a show for Dean. If, no_ when_, he kissed her for the first time, it would be in private.

"Good night, Vi. Safe trip home."

"Yeah, you too, see you tomorrow." Violet's heart was pounding in her chest, she was terrified that he was going to kiss her but now that he didn't she was disappointed to say the least. Stupid Ambroses peeking through the blinds like little old ladies, if they weren't looking, he probably would have kissed her.


	4. Not A Date

Roman went out of his way to see Violet at least once a day at work, he couldn't help it, seeing her always put a smile on his face. The group went out for drinks once a week and thanks to Dean and Leslie there was always a seat open next to Violet.

"You know guys, we always do the same thing every week," Violet said one Thursday night.

Seth chimed in, "Yeah! We should mix it up a little."

Dean rolled his eyes, "OK nerds, what did you have in mind."

"Watch yourself, bro," Roman warned his buddy, "This little nerd over can whoop your ass."

Violet giggled and Seth continued talking, "There is another place about a mile from here that has live bands."

"Let me guess," Violet said, "You go there because it's easy to pick up a groupie after the lead singer breaks their hearts?"

"Ouch, Vi, that was a low blow," Seth said trying to act hurt. "They aren't groupies, they are women that have an appreciation for the same music as I do."

Leslie choked on her drink, "Oh please, the only thing you appreciate is their cleavage!"

Dean laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair and Seth stuck his tongue out at Leslie. Violet just shook her head at her friends.

"Vi, did you have something in mind?" Roman asked softly touching her arm.

"Ummm, well, I, not a specific place," she stuttered looking into his grey eyes. "I just thought, you know..." She looked down and her hair fell in front of her face.

Roman smiled at her, he was dying to reach out and push her hair back.

"Hey! Let's play pool next week!" Seth offered.

"Now that sounds cool," Dean said, "They'll have beer, and I get to watch my woman lean over the pool tables!"

"Yeah and so will every other guy in the pool hall," Seth added

Dean growled, "I'll stand behind her every time!"

Leslie laughed, "Oh, my hero!"

"Damn straight! No one stares at your ass except me!" Leslie leaned over and whispered in his ear. Dean grinned, tossed a $20 bill on the table and they hurried out of the bar.

"Well, in that case," Seth said taking out his wallet, "I'm gonna go hang with the groupies!" He tossed some cash on the table too and left Roman and Violet alone at the table.

"Sheesh... Their priorities are all screwed up!" Violet joked, "I thought friends came first, you know, bros before hoes?"

Roman laughed, "I'm gonna tell Leslie you called her a ho!"

Violet stared at him wide eyed, "No! That's not what I meant!"

He kept laughing, "Aw, I'm just teasing, sweetheart."

Violet blushed, did he just call her sweetheart? Holy shit… She didn't know how to respond, so she just stared back down at her drink.

"So, Vi, you wanna hang here for a bit or are you hungry?" Roman asked, he couldn't believe that he just called her sweetheart, it slipped out and now he couldn't take it back.

"Are you seriously asking me if I am hungry? I am always hungry."

Roman grinned, "I know! How about that little diner on Main Street, is it any good?"

"Good? That's the best diner in a 20 mile radius!" Violet looked at their bar tab and counted the cash the boys left on the table, "Wow, drinks are on Dean and Seth, they were so excited to get out of here they didn't even pay attention to what they tossed out on the table."

"Even better," Roman said, "Let's go get some food before that beer burns a hole in my stomach."

* * *

They both drove their own cars to the diner and met up inside, Roman had gotten a small booth in the corner of the restaurant. Violet slid in across from him and grabbed a menu. Let's see, bacon and eggs, hamburger and fries, she looked up at Roman and was smiling at her.

"What? What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing, you just look like you are pondering the deeper meanings of life instead of reading the diner menu."

She thought for a minute, "OK, here's the issue, I SHOULD get a salad, but salads are boring. You won't judge me, will you?"

"Never, I like a woman who likes food."

She grinned, "Roman, I love food!"

The waitress came and they placed their order, Violet got chocolate chip pancakes, a side of bacon and a diet coke. Roman laughed and ordered breakfast too, a four egg meat lovers omelette with hash browns and toast. Violet's phone was ringing constantly in her bag.

"You know, you can answer that if you want," Roman said.

Violet sighed, "Its my mother, I really don't want to talk to her at this very moment, but if I don't answer she will just keep calling." She dug her phone out and answered it.

"Hi Mom, is something wrong?" She said rolling her eyes, "Well, you called me eleven times in a row…. Mom, the cell phones work just fine, yes all eleven calls went through… No, mom, I'm out. Yes, I am out with someone…."

Roman was trying not to laugh, he could hear her mom through the phone. "No mom, I'm not with Dean… Seth is not a weirdo mom, just because you don't like his hair, that doesn't make him weird… Uh-huh, yeah, we are at the diner… of course I ordered a salad, no, no, I gave up bacon for Lent… Of course I still go to church every Sunday! Seriously Mom, would I lie to you? Oh look, my salad is here, let me talk to you later… love you, give dad a kiss for me, bye!" She hung up the phone, turned off the ringer and buried it back at the bottom of her bag.

Roman shook his head and waggled his finger at her, "Its not nice to lie to your mother."

"I know, I am a horrible person. But, I'm telling you she has radar or something," Violet said shaking her head, "Every single time I order something with bacon in it she calls me to ask if I am eating a salad… It's kinda scary."

The time flew by, they ate and talked and really had a great time. Violet was feeling more comfortable around him, he wasn't as intimidating when he was laughing and smiling and trying to steal her bacon. She had no idea how long they were sitting there, but the diner started getting crowded and the waitress tossed their bill on the table hinting that it was time for them to go. They both reached for it at the same time, Violet got to it first and Roman placed his hand over hers. His hand was huge, he completely covered her hand and it sent shivers down her spine.

"Let me get this," he said softly, his grey eyes locked onto hers.

"Umm, I can pay half, I mean…"

"Nope," he cut her off, "This is my treat."

"OK," she said trying to pull her hand out from under his, "Thank you. Next time its my treat then."

His heart started racing, next time, she wanted there to be a next time. He gently squeezed her hand and shook his head at her "No way, you are a lady, the lady never pays. Its a rule of mine."

Violet was swooning inside, but she couldn't help trying to poke holes in his rule, "What if I ask you out?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"What if its your birthday? I mean, no one should pay on their birthday."

He was quiet for a minute, "OK, fine you got me there."

She grinned, "Sweet! When's your birthday?"

"I'm not telling."

"Oh really?" She said raising an eyebrow, "I'll make Dean tell me."

Roman laughed, "Ambrose doesn't know!"

Violet was quiet for a while, he took out his wallet to pay and she had an idea, she reached across the table and swiped it from his hands, "Its on your drivers license!"

Roman was surprised, he was impressed that she was that quick. She grinned, "May 25! On that day, you have no choice, you have to let me pay."

"You are something else, Vi!" Roman laughed, "Fine, you earned it, you can buy me dinner on my birthday."

"YAY!" Violet did a little happy dance in her seat, "I win! I win!"

Roman walked her to her car, "Thanks for having dinner with me again."

Violet blushed, "Anytime, I had a really good time."

They stood there awkwardly until Violet stood up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, tightly, loving the way her body felt against his, she was a perfect fit.

She pulled away and got into her car before he could get himself to do anything more. He knew one thing for sure, that woman belonged in his arms. Dean told him to take it slow with her, he was getting a pretty good idea of what her last relationship was like and she sure as hell deserved better than that. But was he good enough for her? No, no way. He wasn't good enough for her, but he was willing to do anything to win her over.

* * *

Violet parked her car in her driveway and looked around to make sure the coast was clear, she grabbed her pepper spray just in case. She had the key to her front door in one hand and the pepper spray in the other, she ran the short distance from her car to her door, let herself in and punched in the alarm code. She leaned against her door and sighed, this was all getting to be really old. How long would it be before she would feel comfortable walking from her car to her front door? How much longer was Jake going to be in the back of her mind? She kicked off her shoes and threw herself down on the couch, digging her phone out of her bag, maybe she should call her mom back. She had a text message from Seth…

_"Hey Vi, so what do you and lover boy wind up doing after I left?"_

Lover boy? _"SETH! Did you really go to that club? Or did you set me up?"_

She growled at her phone. _"Oh, I totally set you up, baby! It was too easy once D&L left!"_

_"I hate you"_ she wrote back.

_"Whatever. Spill it, what did you do?"_

_"We hit up the diner on Main for some food. Just got home now."_

_"You spent over 2 hrs in the diner!"_

Violet smiled, those two hours felt like 15 minutes, time flew by when she was with Roman. _"Yeah, it was a good dinner."_

_"Awww. ur 1st date."_

She shook her head, Seth texted like a 13 year old girl, she was surprised he wasn't using any smiley faces. _"It wasn't a date, it was just dinner."_

_"Who paid?"_

_"Fuck you Rollins, I'm going to bed."_

_"HA! I knew it! He wants you Vi!"_

_"Good night Seth."_

Violet double checked the alarm and headed up to bed, she went through her normal routine and crawled under the covers. This was usually the worst time of the day for her, she would get lonely and scared and wind up crying herself to sleep. She'd never admit it to Leslie or Seth because they would worry too much, she had the best friends anyone could ask for but she still felt like something was missing… Tonight was different, she thought about Roman, remembering his arms around her, his strong chest and how good he smelled. She was laying in bed grinning like an idiot, that hug felt too good. She knew she swore off men forever, but Roman wasn't your typical man and he certainly wasn't Jake. He made her laugh, he was a gentleman, he called her sweetheart, she felt safe with him. She hugged her pillow and drifted off to sleep thinking about Roman's strong arms and his captivating grey eyes.


	5. Just Friends

It was finally Friday! AJ called in sick so Violet and Seth decided to go out for lunch; Antonio decided to eat in the plant cafeteria so that he could meet some more people. They went to the little pizza place near the plant, it was close and it was fast and who can say no to pizza? They found a small table for two and dug in, but Violet kept looking up every time the door opened.

"Vi, relax," Seth said frowning, his heart broke for her, the poor thing was still jumpy even though there hadn't been a peep from Jake in almost a month.

"Sorry, I can't help it. I keep waiting for him to show up again. Its been a month, its about time, you know?"

Seth reached across the table and squeezed her hand, "I know Vi. I don't know how you feel but I know that as long as he still controls you like this, he is winning."

She nodded and sniffed back tears, Seth got up and dragged his chair next to hers and pulled her into him for a hug. They sat like that for a while, he knew Violet hated crying but at least he could try to calm her down a little before they had to head back to work.

* * *

Roman ran out to pick up lunch for him and Dean. Dean wanted pizza, even though Roman tried to talk him into getting something a little healthier. At least he could get a chicken wrap at that pizza place Dean sent him to. He walked in and placed his order, then looked up and saw Violet and Seth. They were sitting next to each other and she had her face buried in Seth's shirt, he had his arms wrapped around her and he kissed the top of her head. Roman felt his heart stop in his chest, he fought the urge to rip that freak's arms off and paid for lunch and stormed out.

He walked into Dean's office, slammed the door shut and tossed the pizza box on the desk in front of his friend. He threw his wrap down and kicked the tiny guest chair across the room.

"What the fuck crawled up your ass?" Dean asked, "Hey! Don't trash my office, man, I'm gonna have to pay for that!"

Roman growled, "Don't start with me Ambrose, now is not the time."

Dean scratched the back of his head, "Roman, seriously, come on, calm down, count to ten or something and tell me what the fuck has you all worked up like this."

Roman paced the room a few times trying to get himself under control. This was not him, this was not normal, the head doctor told him how to control these feelings. Deep breaths, start with deep breaths, count to ten, Ambrose is right.

When he finally calmed down he was exhausted, he collapsed into the guest chair and put his head in his hands. Dean gave him a few more minutes before speaking, "Bro. What happened?"

Roman groaned, he was embarrassed, this was why Dean and Leslie felt the need to take care of him, these random fits of anger, triggered by something so simple. He was getting so much better, it had been months. He sighed, "Violet and Seth. They were at the pizza place."

"So? That place is crawling with people from here, its the closest place that isn't infested with roaches."

"He was holding her, kissed her head." Roman squeezed his eyes shut and took another deep breath, just picturing it in his head was enough to get him all worked up again.

"Roman, they are just friends," Dean said, he looked at his friend, he didn't realize he felt that strongly about Violet. "They've known each other since their first day in college. They are like brother and sister."

Roman didn't say anything, he didn't even look up at his friend. He was wiped out, getting all worked up like that took a toll on him. It always did, shit, he didn't want to have to call that shrink again.

"Look, Roman, Leslie will kill me for saying this, but Violet is head over heels for you. Make a move man, ask her out for dinner or a movie, something, anything."

Roman finally looked up at his friend, "She deserves better than me."

"Dude, Vi is like a sister to me and you are like a brother to me, would I be pushing you two together if I didn't think you are made for each other?"

"If she saw me like I was when I walked in here, she would be scared shitless and you know it," Roman resisted the urge to punch the desk.

Dean shrugged, "Then don't lose your shit in front of her."

Roman just glared at him from across the desk.

"Hey, man, don't look at me like that," Dean said. "Think about it, as soon as you realized you were in a bad state, you managed to calm yourself down."

Roman stood up, took his lunch and walked out, "I'm gonna do my rounds and get the fuck out of here."

Dean watched his friend leave, he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about him, but also knew that he had come a long way since he left the battlefield. Dean was lucky, he left with his mind in one piece and met Leslie, very few of his fellow vets could say that. He wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Roman, he would be in his debt forever.

* * *

Roman was still agitated from his embarrassing outburst, he sat in his car and ate his lunch and tried to really think about what Dean had said. He was right, he was able to calm himself down pretty quickly, but he needed Dean to point it out to him. Plus, he had no reason to get so worked up over seeing Violet with anyone, all they shared was a dinner and a hug because he didn't have the balls to kiss her. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths. Violet was perfect, but if it didn't work out, he could lose his two best friends.

He made his afternoon rounds like he promised, but he didn't stop to talk to Violet like he normally did, he waved as he walked by her desk and felt like an asshole when he saw her smile vanish as he walked past her without stopping. He was standing outside sending a text to Dean to tell him that he was leaving early when Violet came running out and stopped right next to him.

"Hey." She said looking up at him and shielding her eyes from the sunlight.

"Hi Violet," he muttered.

"Uh, is everything OK?" She asked softly, "You know, if you need to talk, I'm here for you." He didn't answer her, just stared straight ahead, "I mean, I know you have Dean and you guys go way back and all, but I... well, I just wanted to tell you that I am here, if you need someone who isn't Dean to talk to."

He looked down at her, stop being a jerk Reigns, look at her face.

"Thanks Vi," he said and started to walk away. She reached out and grabbed his wrist forcing him to turn around and look down at her.

"I mean it, Roman." She gave him a little squeeze and let go turning around to go back inside.

Roman stood there and watched her walk away. He was being stupid, she was practically begging him to talk to her. "Vi! Wait!" he called out and jogged over to meet her by the door. "Look, I'm sorry, I am being a big jerk here, but…"

She smiled, "Its OK, I know, you are a big strong man and big strong men don't talk about their feelings."

That's when he had the perfect idea, "Exactly, we like to do manly things, like beat on punching bags." He grinned at her, "How about a sparring session at the gym after work?"

"Sure! I'll have to swing by my place to grab my gym bag though."

"Perfect. I'll meet you here at quitting time and follow you over to your place."

"Oh! And then afterwards you can come back to my place, Leslie and I made a giant pot of chili the other day," she said, "and I could use some help eating it."

"Now that's a deal, little lady!" He said, he gave her a quick hug and promised to meet her back there right after he clocked out. He couldn't wait to see Vi in action on that punching bag and the invite back to her place was just icing on the cake!

* * *

They were in Roman's car heading back to Violet's place after just over an hour on the bags and quick shower in the locker rooms. "Vi, you are a little powerhouse! Your form is perfect."

She giggled, "Thanks!"

He parked his car in the driveway behind hers and started to get out of the car, "Wait!" She yelled, "I didn't check to see if it was safe yet."

He paused and watched her scan the yard and get out with her keys and her pepper spray in position. He silently followed her to her front door, slipped in behind her and watched as she reset the alarm code.

"Uh, Vi?" He asked as he followed her to the kitchen, "What the hell was that all about?"

"What was what all about?"

Roman just looked at her, she tried to ignore his steely eyed stare but she cracked in under a minute.

"Fine, fine, I'm sure you know most of the story anyway." She turned her back to him to start heating up the chili, suddenly feeling embarrassed to tell him about Jake.

He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, "Vi, you can trust me. But if you don't want to tell me, then that's fine too."

She leaned back against his chest and sighed, "Whatever Dean has told you about Jake is true. He was abusive when we were together and he is furious that I left him."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, "So he is stalking you. And even though you are with a sixth degree black belt trained by the US Marine Corp, you still felt the need to take out your pepper spray?"

She turned around to face him, "Well, I guess when you put it that way, it does seem kinda silly." She wrapped her arms around his waist, "But its my routine, and every time I get too comfortable, he surprises me with something."

She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes relaxing in his arms. She had no idea how long they stayed that way, but suddenly they smelled the chill burning. Violet turned around and saw the pot overflowing onto the stove top and quickly killed the gas and moved the pot over. "I think it's hot enough," she said.

They settled down on the couch and polished off half of the chili and talked about pretty much everything. Roman stretched out his legs and put his arm across the back of the couch, "Now that was some good chili. You and Leslie can hook me up with an extra pot of that anytime."

Violet nodded, "It came out really good! We modified the recipe a little bit in order to trick Dean into eating more veggies."

Roman laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes, "I swear sometimes, that man is like a five year old!"

"Sometimes?" Violet squeaked, "Only sometimes?"

Violet finally caught her breath and realized that he had slid closer to her on the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him and the look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat, he leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

"Vi, I understand you are still hurting because of your ex and I don't want to rush you into anything."

She nodded and looked up at him, "But, I want you to know how amazing I think you are. When you are ready, I'll be here."

Violet swallowed the lump in her throat, "Roman, I don't have any feelings for Jake anymore, just fear. It might be hard for me to trust though."

They were quiet for a few minutes when Violet spoke up, "Roman, why were you so upset this afternoon?"

Roman sighed, well, he owed her that much, "I uh, well, I have some post traumatic stress issues and I have trouble sleeping." He paused and looked at her, she nodded and waited, she had a feeling there was more.

"I get agitated sometimes, something innocent will set something off and I'll flip my shit. Today was the first time it happened in three months."

Violet squeezed his hand, she didn't know what to say.

"You scared of me now?" He asked softly.

She shook her head, "You? No way."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and started tracing the tattoo on his forearm.

"I was the sniper for our unit," he said.

She looked up at him, "A sniper? That sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is pretty cool." He paused and watched her fingers on his arm. "The bad part is being isolated from your team. You see things go down, but there is nothing you can do to help."

Violet was surprised to hear the sadness in his voice, she knew from talking with Leslie that Dean needed to get these images out of his head every so often, she looked up and waited to see if there was more. She put her hands on the sides of his face and kissed his lips softly, the same way he had kissed her and then hugged him as tightly as she could. When she felt him relax again she whispered "Snipers are sexy as hell."

He chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair, "So are chemists."


	6. Eat Your Veggies

Violet was giddy after her evening with Roman, they cuddled on the couch for hours talking. She finally got up the nerve to trace the lines of his tattoo and was amazed by the intricacy of it and it felt amazing the way he was running his fingers through her long black hair. She slept late on Saturday, went to her MMA classes and then spent the afternoon running errands and cleaning and talking to her parents. Her parents retired to Florida three years ago and sometimes she missed them terribly, even her brother moved to be closer to them.

She arrived at Dean and Leslie's house bright and early Sunday morning for their weekly cook off. They were still brainstorming ways to hide veggies in different meals, Leslie was afraid Dean was going to keel over from high cholesterol one of these days.

"What about mac and cheese?," Violet asked, "A friend of mine says that she uses pureed cauliflower in her mac and cheese recipe and her kids and husband can't even tell the difference."

"Hmmm…." Leslie thought about it, "That could work, Dean loves my mac and cheese."

"I am sure there is a recipe online somewhere."

"Yeah, I was thinking of joining a support group for parents of picky eaters," Leslie said, "Don't laugh at me, Violet, I am serious! This man is the pickiest eater I have ever met in my life."

"Oh please, Les, he will eat anything as long as you make it. Let's get these quiches started, we can chop the broccoli really small and maybe he'll eat some by accident." Violet said unpacking the groceries she brought with her.

"Uhh, Vi? You have a lot of stuff there, how many are we making?" Leslie asked.

"Oh, um, well, I figured two for you and Dean, one for me and one extra," Violet started washing the veggies, trying to hide her blushing from her friend.

"Oh, I see, one extra, just in case you happen to drive by a certain Samoan man's apartment?"

Violet didn't answer so Leslie let it slide. They prepared the quiches and put them in the oven then sat down with some coffee.

"We hung out Friday night," Violet casually mentioned.

"And?"

"And what? He liked our chili."

"Ooooo, you invited him to your place?" Leslie wiggled her eyebrows at Violet and nearly choked on her coffee when Vi turned red.

"No! Jeez, Les, you are so horny." She said shaking her head, "He did kiss me though, nothing hot and heavy. It was sweet."

Just then Dean strolled in, "I knew I smelled food in here!" He gave Leslie and kiss and ruffled Violet's hair. "What are you two making?"

"Quiche," Violet said getting up to check if they were done.

"Quiche?! Men don't eat quiche!"

"And why not?" Leslie demanded.

"It's all floofy and girlie," he said. "It's not manly, not at all."

"Well, if that man wants to get any action tonight, he better be eating my quiche!" Leslie said.

Dean wiggled his eyebrows and smirked, "Oh yeah, baby, I'll eat your quiche. I'll eat it all night long!" He pounced on her and started kissing her neck.

"Ok, that's it, I'm outta here!" Violet said, "Bring mine to work tomorrow."

* * *

Roman was tired, Friday night was the best sleep he had in years, he felt so relaxed after spending the night with Violet. But then Saturday night was the worst night in a very long time. Every time he closed his eyes he was bombarded with images, it was all so real, he could hear everything, smell everything and he woke up with all the same aches and pains. It was after noon Sunday and he was still laying in bed with the blinds closed, he could hear his cell phone buzzing with text messages but he couldn't drag himself out of bed to go check them. He knew he needed to sleep but he was afraid to close his eyes, he knew the images would flood his brain again.

He knew he would regret it if he spent the whole day hiding in bed but he was too damned tired to get up. One more hour, he'd give himself one more hour, then at the very least, he would have to drag his ass to the laundromat.

* * *

Violet wasn't sure what to do with her unexpected free afternoon, why did her two best friends have to be so damned horny all the time? She sent a text to Seth to see what he was up to, nothing back, he was probably sleeping off a hangover. She sent a text to Roman, but no reply from him either. Oh, well, might as well go grab a cup of coffee and head home, not much else to do on a Sunday anyway.

She parked her car and walked into the local coffee place, it had the best coffee but was too far out of her way during the week to stop there before work. She took a spot in line and was debating between the hazelnut latte and the french vanilla cappuccino when she heard someone call her name.

"Oh my god! Violet! Is that really you?"

She turned around and was face to face with an old mutual friend of hers and Jake's, great, just great… "Oh, hi, Tammy."

Tammy gave her an air kiss on her cheek and started babbling, "I haven't seen you in so long! You look great!" She said as she adjusted her skin tight lime green sweater. "And oh, I saw Jake last night, we were at this party and let me tell you sweetie, he STILL has not gotten over you. He is pining away for you, you lucky duck you! He is a hot one!"

"Uh, yeah, well, thanks for passing on that info Tammy, but I will never get back together with Jake, so please don't encourage him."

"Oh, really? So, do you mind if I make a move on him?" Tammy asked perking up.

"Um, yeah, sure, whatever Tam, knock yourself out." Violet bought her coffee and one of those giant fudge brownies and got out of the cafe and into her car as fast as she could. So Jake was going around telling people that he still loved her. He was still playing games, she drove home and circled her block a few times, she tried to be rational, there were no strange cars around, no one on foot, it was perfectly normal, but she was too scared to get out of her car. She called Leslie and Dean again, still no answer. She called Seth and then she called Roman. No one was answering their phones. She drove around in circles for an hour, her coffee was ice cold and he had no desire to eat her brownie. Seriously Violet, just go home, Tammy is probably stripping for him right now anyway. Her cell phone started ringing, finally, someone was calling her back…

"Hi Seth, where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry, Vi, my phone died. What's up?"

Violet told Seth about her run-in with Tammy, "Ugh, Vi, that woman gives me the creeps."

"Tell me about it… So, anyway, now I am kinda freaked out about going home. You wanna get lunch or something?"

"Sure, give me 20 minutes and I'll meet you at that hot dog place, I could go for a loaded chili cheese dog."

Violet rolled her eyes, seriously, the men in her life were going to eat themselves to an early death. Between Seth and Dean they probably hadn't had a vegetable in months. She make a quick U-turn and headed towards what she liked to call "The Heart Attack Shack."

She giggled when she saw Seth, does that man even own a hair brush? He was wearing his gray sweatpants and, as always, a band tshirt. He gave her a big hug and they went inside to order.

"You OK, Vi?" he asked as soon as they sat down.

"Yeah, I mean, I was being paranoid, but still, I just needed to tell someone, you know?"

He nodded, took a bite of his foot long bacon chili cheese hot dog and cursed as he dribbled cheese down his shirt, "Fuck, I love his shirt!"

Violet laughed, "Ha! That's what you get for eating so much junk. When was the last time you had a vegetable?"

"Hey! I take vitamins!" Seth said trying to rub the cheese sauce off his shirt.

"Of course you do, are they gummies?"

"Uhh… I plead the fifth!"

Violet shook her head, "OK, so at least tell me what you did last night."

"Oh! Vi! I had a date! Aww, come on, don't look at me like that, this girl is really great."

"Tell me about her. Where did you take her?"

"We went bowling and then had drinks. She's cool Vi, I met her two months ago. Took me a month to convince her to go out with me."

"Please tell me you didn't take her bowling on your first date."

"Come on, Vi, give me some credit! Our first date I took her to dinner at that new Italian place downtown."

Violet was impressed, she heard that place was pricey, "Wow, nice, Mr. Romantic! Don't tell Leslie, she has been trying to get Dean to take her there and he refuses."

Seth laughed, "Dean is so cheap! I am sure Leslie can come up with a way to entice him, she always gets her way in the end!"

Violet rolled her eyes, "And I'm sure something sexual will be involved..."

"Oh Vi, you are just jealous because you aren't getting any! Just climb Roman and get it over with!"

"I cannot believe you just said that, Seth, wow…"

"Aww, come on Vi, don't be so sensitive."

"Well, thanks for meeting me for lunch Seth, but I think I need to head home now," Violet got up and started walking out, "See you at work tomorrow. Try to remember to brush your hair."

"Violet! Wait! Come on! Vi, I didn't mean it like that," Seth called after her, but she flipped him the bird over her shoulder and continued to walk out. On the bright side, at least he managed to distract her from Jake and Tammy…

Violet was furious with Seth, how dare he… I mean, whatever, Dean and Leslie have a healthy sex life and that's great, good for them, but they don't have to broadcast it all the time. And they all knew that Seth had no problems picking up women in bars for one night stands, not that he was disrespectful to women or anything, but he figured if they were both willing and they both understood it was a one night thing, then its OK. She wished she asked more about this girl, maybe she would be the one to end Seth's flings. Climb Roman…. I mean, really, how rude, maybe it was a little true… but it was mostly rude.

.

* * *

Roman finally dragged his ass out of bed around 5:00, it was much later than he wanted to lounge but he actually managed to fall asleep. He checked his phone and noticed two text messages and a missed call from Violet among the messages from Dean and his cousins. He immediately called her back, but she didn't answer, so he sent her a quick text message and then hopped in the shower.

As soon as he got out he checked his phone again, she wrote back,_ "Hey! No worries. What's going on?"_

He grinned _"Not much. You have any plans for dinner?"_

He towel dried his hair while he waited for her response, what should he suggest? They already went to a diner and he ate at her place Friday night, his apartment was pathetic, he couldn't invite her over. Hmm…

_"Nope."_

_"Wanna grab something?"_

_"Sure! Something healthy please, I watched Seth eat a heart attack hot dog for lunch!"_

_"I know the perfect place. Pick you up in 30?"_

_"Sure!"_

* * *

Roman had just rung Violet's doorbell and was waiting outside for her to answer feeling unusually nervous, its not like he didn't hang out with her before, or take her out to dinner before, this was nothing new, right? He looked at himself, he was wearing black shoes instead of his ratty old sneakers, black Dockers instead of jeans and a grey polo shirt instead of a grey tshirt. Ok, maybe tonight was a little special, he hoped he wasn't rushing things.

Violet opened the door and he was mesmerized, she looked amazing. She also decided to dress up a little more than normal, she was wearing brown dressy pants and a low cut blue sweater. He had to resist the urge to look down her shirt as he walked past her into the house.

"You look great, Vi," he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Aww, thanks Roman, you look really good too! Lemme just get my shoes and we can go."

They chatted on the trip there, Violet didn't even ask where they were going, normally she would, but she trusted Roman to pick a nice place. He pulled up in front of the very same Italian restaurant that she was talking to Seth about that afternoon.

Her eyes were wide as saucers when she looked over at him, "Roman? Really?"

Roman looked sheepish, "Um, yeah, I heard this place was good. Is it OK?"

"Of course! Dean will kill you though, now he will have to take Leslie here!"

Roman laughed, "Well, that makes it even better, now doesn't it?" He started to get out of the car and stopped, "By the way, when we get inside, I'm going to need you tell me what a heart attack hot dog is."

Violet giggled, "Only if you promise me you'll never eat one!"


	7. A Real Date

Jake was sitting in his new hideout, he couldn't believe his luck, who would have thought that the house across from Violet would be empty. The attic was the perfect place to watch Violet's every move, he knew her routine, he knew when she left, when she came home, when she went to bed… everything. He ached to barge into her house and reclaim her, but of course, she had an alarm system installed, that had to be that fucker Ambrose's idea, his Violet would never have thought of that on her own.

Violet was getting a little too comfortable without him though, that big guy came over for the second time this weekend. Friday night he was in there way too long for his taste and now he is taking her out somewhere. God, she looked good all dressed up and the way she was smiling. She used to look at him like that, in the beginning, he loved the way she smiled. It burned him up inside knowing that some other man was making her smile like that. He needed to find a way to remind her that she was still his woman. It was more than worth spending that night with Tammy, thanks to her, he knew that Violet was still scared of him, he watched her circle her block and refuse to get out of her car. It was his best plan yet, he got to shake Violet up a little and he got laid in the process. Tammy was a whore, but if he closed his eyes, he could pretend it was Violet that he was pounding himself into.

He sat in the dark attic eating some old Chinese take out thinking about what he should do next. He had to stop whatever was going to happen between his girl and that big fool with the ponytail. But he had to be careful, he couldn't reveal his hideout, if anyone found out he'd be tossed in jail for sure and his brother was getting tired of bailing him out. It would have to be something big, but anonymous, he didn't need to leave his name on it, Violet would know right away.

It came to him out of nowhere, yes, he knew exactly what he would do… he just needed a few supplies and he would be ready, tomorrow, definitely tomorrow, this needed to stop now. He didn't want to be forced to hurt his Violet again.

* * *

Dinner was perfect, Roman was happy that he decided to go out all out and make this an official date. He already knew that they could spend hours talking and after Friday night, he knew that she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. She was just so cute, and shy, he didn't want to push her but he also didn't want to risk losing her. He took her hand as they were walking out of the restaurant and she smiled up at him, yes, he made the right choice tonight.

Violet finally got over the shock of being in THE date restaurant and was able to enjoy it, she looked around in amazement, it was beautiful, and she was there with Roman. The food was perfect, they talked and laughed and now he was holding her hand, she didn't stop smiling the entire night.

He pulled into her driveway and walked her to her door, Violet didn't want to admit that the night was over. Maybe she could invite him in for coffee? Or would that give him the wrong idea? They paused at her front door and she realized how close he was standing to her, her heart skipped a beat and she held her breath. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight, Vi. I had a really great time."

"Me too. Thank you," she smiled up at him, waiting, nothing. "OK, well, ummm, I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

He nodded, so she turned to unlock her door, when he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He pressed his lips against hers and felt a jolt of pleasure when she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed into the kiss, he slipped his tongue between her lips and passionately explored her mouth. She couldn't help but press herself against his body, melting into the kiss, her tongue darting into his mouth making him groan into her. Roman finally pulled away to catch his breath, he smiled sheepishly at Violet.

"I'm sorry, Vi, I know I said I was going to take this slow, but…"

She cut him off by pressing her lips against his, kissing him again, picking up exactly where they left off. He groaned against her soft lips and let his hands roam up and down her body, he ran his fingers through her hair and rested his other hand in the small of her back, just above her ass. They were interrupted by a loud crashing sound, making them both jump nearly out of their skin. The crash was followed by the sound of a hissing cat and a barking dog. Violet sighed, as if her heart wasn't pounding fast enough.

"Stupid stray cats…" she muttered.

Roman grinned at her, "Guess its getting pretty late. I'll wait out here until you reset your alarm."

"Thanks again Roman, dinner was really great." She stood up on her tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting herself in. She entered her code into the alarm system and waved to Roman, she grinned like an idiot as she watched him walk back to his car and drive away.

She kicked off her shoes and made her way up to her bedroom, she dug her cell phone out of her bag and saw several text messages from both Leslie and Seth. Sheesh, last time she tells either of those two about her dinner plans. She giggled as she read through them all, finally she sent them both the same text message "Best first date ever. Best good night kiss ever. Now leave me alone."

She tossed her phone on the bed and hopped into the shower, it was later than she realized it was.

* * *

Roman couldn't help but smile the entire way home. He had been dying to kiss Violet from the first day he met her, but he held back. After that brief kiss on Friday night, it was all he could think about, but he had promised her he would go slow, wait for her to be ready. She fit perfectly in his arms, she smelled amazing and her lips were just so soft.

He felt his cell phone buzzing in his pocket, he pulled it out as he walked up to his apartment, he read the text message from Dean and laughed so hard he couldn't get his key in the lock. "The woman is driving me crazy. Vi isn't writing back. Tell me something to make her shut up!"

Roman let himself in and flopped down on the couch, "Tell Leslie I took Vi to that new Italian place."

"Bro! Don't let that get out… the woman is dying to go there." He chuckled, he knew that would get a reaction out of Dean. "Oh, wait, she is looking at her phone and smiling. Oh, she is happy… gotta take advantage of this one. Thanks bro!"

Roman shook his head, if Dean could find his perfect match, then anyone could. He turned the TV on to ESPN, set the alarm on his cell phone and put his feet up on the coffee table. He wasn't going to risk ruining his good mood, going to bed was out of the question, there would be no nightmares tonight. He thought about Vi's soft lips and drifted off to sleep.


	8. Burn Baby Burn

Roman started the day by swearing at his alarm, he was in the middle of reliving his date with Violet for the millionth time in his dreams. He pulled himself off the couch and sweared some more, now he remembered why he didn't sleep on the couch more often, peice of crap Craigslist worn out shitty couch… he should invest in a Lazy Boy or something, his ass was too big to be sleeping on this thing. He dragged himself to the shower, swearing even more as he tripped over his own shoes, he really needed to clean. Shower first… he checked the clock, cleaning would have to wait until after work.

* * *

Violet cruised into work right on time with her breakfast and her coffee, her desk phone was flashing with 3 messages already. Seth called in sick, AJ wasn't coming in for whatever reason and Antonio had safety training all day long. That left all the permit samples, all the data entry and all the R&D experiments all for her to deal with. Wonderful. She wrapped her muffin back up and chugged as much coffee as she could before putting on her lab coat and retreating into the lab area. There was a strict "no food in the lab" rule and although no one was here to know the difference, it would be her luck that she would drink from the bottle of acid instead of her cup of coffee.

Vi spent the next 3 hours prepping samples and running tests in the lab, she decided to save all the data entry for the end of the day. Her stomach was growling, but she wasn't going to stop to eat until she got just a few more things done. She was in the middle of a pH titration when she heard the fire alarms going off inside the building. She paused and looked around, she didn't see anything or smell anything, it was probably just another malfunction, no way she was throwing away an hour's worth of work for a stupid fire drill. She ignored the alarm and went back to work.

She was so focused on ignoring the alarm and getting her measurements right that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard someone screaming her name.

"Violet! Let's go! Don't you hear the alarm? Get the hell out of here!" Roman was storming through the lab, "Where is everyone else?"

"Relax, I'm the only one here. The alarm goes off all the time, I'm in the middle of something."

"No, Violet, this is the real deal, let's go," He grabbed her by the wrist and tried to drag her out.

She pulled her hand back and glared at him, "Don't!"

Roman sighed, "Violet, come on." They both looked up when they heard the sirens, "Did you hear that? Fire trucks, that means real fire, now let's go."

"Ok, fine, let me get my purse." Violet closed the chemical hood and turned toward her desk when Roman put a big hand on her shoulder.

"No. Outside. Now. Either you walk, or I drag you."

They hurried toward the closest exit and saw the smoke billowing outside the window. "Oh my god," Violet whispered her eyes wide as saucers, she froze in panic.

"Violet Miller, turn around and go to the back door, NOW!" Roman took her hand and guided her towards the back door and out into the parking lot.

It was total chaos, Violet was still in shock, the fire was burning up all of the bushes right outside the window near the office area, the smoke billowing into the building filling the little work area. Violet sat down on the curb and put her head in her hands.

Roman checked in with Dean, "Yeah, lab is empty, Violet was the only one in. Stubborn little thing, had to practically drag her out."

"Look, bro, keep your eyes on her, you hear me?"

Roman turned his head to see Violet sitting on the curb talking to one of the EMTs, "Yeah, of course. What's going on?"

"Fire wasn't an accident, security cameras saw her crazy ex wandering the property. No cameras outside the lab though."

"I warned you about that blind spot bro, you have no eyes around an entire building." Roman reminded his friend.

"Now's not the time for I told you sos. What's the deal over there?"

Roman scanned the people milling around the parking lot, "Everyone here looks familiar. I'm gonna have to get back in the lab to get Vi's bag or she can't get home."

"No, don't leave her and don't say anything to her yet. I have spare keys to her house and her car at my place. Just keep her in your sight. Don't let her leave alone."

Roman hung up with Dean and strolled back over to Violet, he didn't like keeping this from her, but Dean knew her better, if he said not to tell her, he had to trust his buddy.

"Hey, Vi. You ok?" He squatted down in front of her.

She looked up at him and nodded, "When can I go get my bag?"

"Sorry, Vi, they won't let anyone back in until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Dean says that he has your spare key at home, I'll drive you."

Violet stood up and started pacing, "This is some coincidence, don't you think Roman? I mean, I am the only one here today and the fire was outside my desk window where I am normally sitting. I know this wasn't just a little brush fire."

"Vi, listen.." Roman started to talk but she cut him off.

"No, no, don't 'Vi listen' me, I know something is up here. You were talking to Dean. Jake did this, didn't he? He saw us together and now he is punishing me."

Roman sighed, at least he wasn't the one who told her. "Yes, Dean said he saw your ex on the security cameras before the fire started. He didn't want me to tell you."

"Why? He didn't think I would figure it out? Ambrose should know me better than that by now. When I see him, I am going to punch him."

"Who? Dean or Jake?"

Violet squinted her eyes at him, "Both. And maybe you too if you don't watch it." She spun around and stormed away.

"Whoa, Violet, wait, where are you going?" Roman followed after her.

"What? Did Dean tell you to babysit me?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Yeah, I thought so. Fine, take me to the security office. I want my house keys."

"Only if you promise not to punch him." She was still glaring at him, "OK, fine, just don't punch him on company property because I then I would be obligated to write you up and report the incident. At least wait until you get to his place."

Dammit, he had a good point. "Fine," she huffed, "Let's go."

* * *

Dean wasn't surprised when Violet stormed into his office, he looked accusingly at Roman who just shrugged his shoulders, "Wasn't me. She did it."

"Take me to get my keys. Now." Violet demanded.

"Look, kiddo, I know you are angry, but…"

"Angry? Angry? Jake set a fucking fire outside my office window because he saw me kissing Roman last night! And you, you, you think I am stupid and I wouldn't figure it out? You are telling Roman not to tell me?"

"OK, so you are more than angry, look, Violet, take a couple million deep breaths or something and just listen to me. I don't think its a good idea for you to go back to your place tonight. Leslie and I will pack a bag for you and you can stay with us."

"No way. No, I am tired of hiding from him. I won't do it anymore. I want to go home."

"No, you are staying with us. End of story." Dean turned and walked back to his desk.

"End of story? Who are you, my father? No way, Ambrose. Give me my house keys. I am going home tonight."

"OK, you two," Roman cut them both off, he knew how stubborn Dean was, but he was surprised by Violet. "Look, let's compromise, what if I stay with Violet at her place tonight?"

They both turned and looked at him in shock, "What, Vi, you have a couch, right?" She nodded so he continued, "It's the only way to make you both happy. Violet gets to go home and Dean will know that she isn't alone. Deal?"

Violet and Dean continued to glare at each other. "Do we have a deal?" Roman asked again. "Dean? Vi?"

"I don't need a babysitter," Violet said, Dean grunted. "What, Dean? What? Just say it!"

"Nothing Vi, nothing." He looked at Roman, "If its OK with her, then fine, you stay at her place. And you call me immediately if you even suspect that asshole might be lurking nearby. You got it?"

Violet sighed, "Dean, don't be a jerk to Roman, he's the only reason I haven't punched your teeth in. I'm sure he is more than capable of handling Jake. I mean, just look at him…"

Roman grinned and flexed, "That's right baby, she doesn't want a softie like you watching her back."

"I give up!" Dean said, "She's all yours! But if anything happens to her, I am siccing Leslie on your sorry ass."

* * *

Violet finally had her house keys from the Ambroses and managed to convince Roman to stop for take out. She wanted Chinese, but he insisted on something that had a drive thru, so she settled for Boston Market. They were sitting at her kitchen table attacking their salads when Violet thought of something.

"Roman? Did you see anything unusual outside last night?"

"No, nothing. I would have told you, Vi. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jake this morning. I trusted Dean's instincts."

Violet smiled at him, "I know, I'm not mad at you. I just, I mean, if I didn't see Jake last night and you didn't see Jake last night, then how did he know about us? He must have one hell of a hiding place."

He shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't know, maybe he just got bored and felt like tormenting you again."

"No, fire isn't his normal thing. It would be a voicemail, or a note on my door or a postcard at work. This was too intense to just be him screwing with me."

"OK, so we can eliminate the obvious, he wasn't lurking outside and he wasn't sitting in a car."

Violet shivered, "That means he is in a house or a garage. Someone is helping him." She jumped up and started pacing back and forth again. "Shit, shit, shit… I can't do this again, Roman. I am so tired of hiding and looking over my shoulder and burdening my friends."

"Violet, you aren't a burden," Roman said softly.

"OK, so, whatever, I can defend myself now at least, right? I mean, I train, I know martial arts! I have a blue belt. Shit, who am I kidding, I'm not as strong as him, there is no way I can fight him off and hurt him bad enough that I can get away. No, see, I am screwed. He'll never leave me alone. Never."

Roman stood up behind her, when she turned around she slammed right into him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. "Violet. You can defend yourself. I know you can."

"How? I am so small! He is strong, he knows how to wrestle." Violet swallowed the lump in her throat, she was determined not to cry over Jake anymore, especially not in front of Roman.

"How big is this guy?" Roman asked.

Violet shrugged, "I dunno, 5'8", I guess…"

Roman smirked, "So, practice on me. If you can fight me off, you can easily get away from that slime."

Violet looked at him wide eyed, "You? No way, no way I can grapple with you. You are, I mean, no way, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Look, if you can create separation with me or break my hold, then you can easily get away from him. Plus, I can teach you more tricks that you won't learn in MMA."

"Like what?" She asked.

Roman looked around her kitchen, "Like how to turn any object into a weapon. Like that glass jar, or a fork or even one of your chairs."

"OK, let's start tomorrow night after work. I am too tired right now."

Roman smiled, this would be fun, "Perfect."

"Oh and by the way, there is no way you are sleeping on my tiny couch," she said as she strolled out of the kitchen.

Roman raised his eyebrow and watched her hips sway as she left, "Down boy," he thought to himself.

* * *

Jake was furious, this was not how he planned it! Violet was pissed, she wasn't scared, not even a little. Then to make matters even worse, that big jerk brought her home and he was still in there with her. He started throwing things around the dingy attic, there was no way he was going to let his woman be ruined by some big guy with a ponytail. He would watch her like a hawk, he would get her alone, he would get her back, she belonged to him and sooner or later she would realize that. This was not over, not by a long shot.


	9. Interrupted

Jake peered through the blinds of the attic window and watched all the lights go out on the first floor in Violet's house, then her bedroom light went on, the big guy never left. His Violet letting a man in her bedroom? Never, not his sweet little Violet. Clearly he was sleeping on the couch, but then again, would his sweet little Violet let anyone sleep on her couch? Maybe she a spare bedroom in the back of the house, that's the only thing that makes sense. He repositioned the telescope to try to get a better look into her bedroom, of course, she decided to buy both blinds and curtains. She always did like a pretty bedroom.

* * *

Roman quickly followed after Violet, he wasn't sure what she had in mind, but she was more fired up than he'd ever seen her. First she was mouthing off to Ambrose and now she wants to learn to fight. She was pretty damned cute when she was all worked up, he almost wished that she did punch Dean.

"Ok, so, I'm gonna go take a shower. Make yourself comfortable, TV remote is on the night table."

He stared at the closed door until he heard the water in the shower. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, he kicked off his shoes and sat on the edge of her bed and looked around her room, purple comforter, purple curtains... She was so cute. He finally grabbed the TV remote and starting flipping through the channels. He heard the water turn off and within a few minutes the door opened. He looked up and saw Violet wrapped in the biggest, fluffiest, most purple robe he had ever seen in his life. She had the belt tied tightly around her waist and the thing came down to her ankles. It was hideous and damned sexy all at the same time.

"You don't exactly look very comfortable," she said frowning at him.

He licked his lips and let his eyes travel up and down her body, he knew she was naked under the robe. All he had to do was tug on that little belt...

"Hey now! I know what you are thinking and just stop it right now!" She said pointing her finger at him.

"Y-you do?" He stuttered.

"Yes. I do. I see the way you are looking at my robe. No smart ass comments about how Violet's favorite color is violet!"

Roman let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, he held his hands up, "I won't say a word to anyone, I swear!"

"Especially not Ambrose!"

"Aww, why not? I still wanna see you kick his ass!"

She rolled her eyes and walked past him to get to her dresser, she forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom with her and she wanted to grab some pajamas and get dressed ASAP. He stood up and took her arm as she passed him, pulling her close and planting a hard kiss on her lips.

"You weren't even close to guessing what I was thinking," he whispered hoarsely before taking her mouth in a passionate kiss. He ran his hands through her damp hair and licked the seam between her lips. She immediately parted them, sighing when he speared his tongue into her mouth. Her hands eagerly roamed his body as she tried to memorize the curves of every muscle in his arms and shoulders. His cock was throbbing, he toyed with the edge of her belt groaning as her hands travelled up his arms and across his broad shoulders.

She was vaguely aware of her cell phone ringing from the top of her night table, she tried to ignore it but whoever it was kept calling back. Roman broke the kiss and looked down at her.

"Don't you want to answer that?" He asked.

"No," she answered as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him. Her phone was quiet for a few seconds and then started ringing again.

"You should get it. It could be important." Roman tried not to laugh as she stomped to the other side of the room and grabbed her phone.

"What do you want, Seth?"

"Violet! Oh my god! Are you ok? I heard about the fire and have been trying to call you for hours!"

Violet sighed, she felt bad, she totally forgot to call Seth and Antonio and fill them in. "Yeah, sorry Seth. I'm fine. The fire was outside our office, I was in the lab. Roman dragged me out."

Seth sighed, "Shit, Vi, I'm so sorry you were there alone, I woke up with a migraine and…"

"Seth, relax, if you had come in, you would have been in the lab and I would have been at my desk. It would have been way worse."

"Do you know how it happened?" He asked.

"Look, don't freak out ok?"

"Jake had something to do with it, didn't he?" The anger in Seth's voice was undeniable, Violet could picture him pacing in his apartment scratching at his beard.

"Yes, we think so. Dean saw him on the security cameras right before the fire alarms went off. But, there isn't any proof, as far as I know."

"Are you with Dean and Leslie?"

"No, I'm home…"

"What? Why? You are alone? I'm putting my shoes on, I'll be there…"

"Seth! Stop! No, I am fine. I'm not alone and even if I were alone, I'd be OK."

"So, Dean and Leslie are with you?"

Violet rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her phone, "No. Roman is here, but its only because Dean was being a jerk and wouldn't let me come home."

Seth started laughing, "Now I know why you took so long to answer! You are alone, late at night with big, bad Roman Reigns!"

"Shut up, Rollins. Look, just call Antonio and fill him in. We'll meet at the security office tomorrow morning and hopefully we'll be able to get into the lab."

"Yes, ma'am. Enjoy your personal body guard!" Seth roared with laughter as Violet disconnected the call.

Roman stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, he kissed her neck and chuckled when she turned the ringer off on her phone and tossed it on top of her laundry pile. "It wasn't important," she sighed as his hands roamed up and cupped her breasts. He groaned when his phone started ringing, "Its probably Ambrose…" she muttered.

"I know. And if I don't answer, he'll show up and break the door down." Roman sat on the edge of the bed and answered the phone, "Bro…"

"How are things there?" Dean barked into the phone.

"Things are fine. Quiet. What happened with the lab?"

Dean sighed, "I just left, heading home now, minor damage to the office area. All the lab equipment and the chemical storage areas are fine."

"That's good, where do you want Violet and the guys to report tomorrow morning?" Roman tried to suppress a groan as Violet climbed on the bed next to him and started tracing the lines of his tattoo, god he loved it when she did that, he started imagining her hands on other parts of him.

"Uh, yeah, security probably, you sure everything is fine over there?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely, 100% fine." Roman assured his friend as Violet boldly placed a kiss behind his ear.

"Ahhh! I see, I'm keeping you from something, huh? Alright, go get her bro."

"Right, yeah. See you in the morning." Roman tossed his phone aside and pulled Violet in his lap. "You never cease to amaze me. Now, where were we..."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and immediately began tugging at the belt on her robe. Violet pressed herself as close to his body as her bulky robe would allow while he hungrily explored her mouth with his tongue. He moaned when he felt her tongue slide against his and her body melt into him. He pulled on that belt like his life depended on him getting it untied.

His head was clouded by her sweet taste and the smell of her vanilla shampoo but he snapped out of it instantly when he heard a rustling outside, the motion sensor light over the driveway turned on filling the bedroom.

At first she didn't know why he pulled away, but as soon as the outside light turned on she knew something was wrong. She looked at Roman, her eyes wide, he moved her to the head of the bed, away from the windows and covered her lips with his finger.

"Stay here," he whispered, grabbing his cell phone and pulling a gun from the waist band of his pants behind his back.

"Wha? Gun? That?"

He shook his head at her, tossed her cell phone on the bed and said "If I'm not back in 5 minutes, call Dean, then 911."

She gulped and nodded her head, squeezing her phone in her hand. Where the hell did he get that gun? How did she not notice it all night? She stared at the clock waiting for the minutes to change silently praying that Roman would be back before the time changed. After 4 agonizingly long minutes she heard someone coming up the stairs, her heart stopped.

"It's ok, Vi, it's me." Roman appeared in her doorway. "Someone was outside, the motion sensor light scared whoever it was away."

He sat down next to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm gonna have to call Dean and let him know."

Violet sighed, she knew what this would turn into. She nodded her head and watched him walk out of her room. She grabbed some pajamas and went into the bathroom to change.

* * *

Roman hung up with Dean after a few minutes. His friend was pissed and he couldn't blame him, but he was relieved that Dean trusted him and didn't blame him. He remembered the look on Violet's face when she saw the gun, he'd have some explaining to do on that one. He grabbed his overnight bag from downstairs and went back up to the bedroom. He froze in the doorway when he saw Violet, she had changed from that hideous robe into her pajamas, an oversized purple tshirt that slipped down on one shoulder and a pair of tiny purple striped shorts that barely covered her delicious behind. His cock jumped in his pants when she bent over to plug in her cell phone charger.

"Oh, Roman, look, we need to talk about something," she said when she saw him standing there.

"Yeah, Vi, about the gun, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just," he dragged his hand across his stubble, "I kinda forgot I had it, I mean, its so small and I was always so used to carrying."

"I'm actually, more disappointed in myself, I didn't even notice it until you started waving it around."

Roman scoffed, "I did not 'wave' it around!"

"You know what I meant! But that's not what I wanted to tell you, your plan of me calling Dean first and then 911? Not a good plan." Roman raised an eyebrow and nodded, so she continued, "You see, the first thing I should do is call the local police department, they know my situation, they will get here much faster. Then, I call Dean. Or you, I mean, you know, if that's OK to call you… assuming you aren't with me, but you know since today you were with me…"

"Your plan is better. And you can always call me, for anything."

"I like a man who can admit when he's wrong," she nodded at his gym bag, "If you want to shower, I put fresh towels in the bathroom, just no wise ass comments about all the purple stuff."

* * *

Roman took a quick and very cold shower and tossed on a tshirt and a pair of basketball shorts before heading back to Violet. She was sitting in bed reading a book when he came in. She looked up and smiled at him, he would do anything to see that smile more often. "You know, I've never seen so much purple in one room before."

She shrugged, "No one usually sees it. So I don't have to deal with smart ass comments, so watch it, or you'll be sleeping on the couch."

Roman scratched the back of his head, "Uh, yeah, about sleeping…"

"We are two responsible adults. I can't in good conscious allow you to sleep on my couch. And I know that you, being the gentleman that you are, would not allow me to sleep on the couch. So, the only option is sharing the bed. Unless of course you want to stand there and stare at me all night."

Roman chuckled, "Well, you are the boss, so whatever you say." He just hoped that he could manage to keep his cool, he didn't want to embarrass himself. He climbed under the purple blankets next to Violet and laid on his back, she turned off the light and settled down on her side of the bed. Within seconds, she scooted over to him and placed her head on his chest and draped her arm across his abdomen.

"Good night, Roman," she yawned. "Thanks for babysitting me."

"Anything for you. Good night, Vi."


	10. KO

Violet started to roll over to hit the snooze button on her alarm when a giant tattooed arm came out of nowhere and sent her alarm clock crashing to the ground. She peeked over the side of her bed to see it laying sadly on the floor, she squealed when that same massive arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards. She squirmed around and looked into Roman's sleepy grey eyes.

"You didn't have to kill my alarm clock."

"Good morning to you too beautiful," he said softly placing little kisses all over her face.

"Roman, I have to get up." She said trying to push away. "No, I mean, I have to go to the bathroom!"

He laughed and let her go, watching as she stretched and scampered off to the bathroom. Her ass in those shorts would be the death of him, it was making his shorts feel very tight. He tried to adjust himself and realized that there was no way to hide his tented pants, so he hurried to pull on his jeans before Violet came out of the bathroom.

* * *

Roman and Violet met Dean and the lab staff at the security office. They sat around the conference room table while Dean briefed them on the damage he saw when he toured the building with the fire chief the night before.

"All of the major damage was to the lab staff's office area. You will all need new office furniture and electronics. I already submitted a request to the administration department and hopefully they are working on it as we speak. I did look in the lab area and as far as I can tell, there is no damage to any of the equipment. All of the chemical storage areas were also untouched." Dean looked around the room, "Does anyone have any questions?"

"What about my office?" AJ asked.

"Your office and the break room are the furthest rooms away from the fire and are completely untouched." Dean told her.

Seth, Antonio and Violet breathed a sigh of relief, they all looked at each other and tried to hide their smiles, they were far more concerned about their stash of gourmet chocolate than AJ's office.

"Alright then, you nerds can go look at your nerd stuff, I'll send one of the rookie guards over there with you. I need Reigns here for something else."

Dean called in a security guard that didn't look a day over thirteen and told him to stay at the lab until they finished cataloging all of the damage and to bring the list back to him as soon as it was done. The kid nodded his head, cleared his throat and waved for the lab staff to follow him. Violet and Seth held their breath trying not to laugh while AJ openly scoffed at the poor kid. Antonio was the only one who managed to keep a straight face.

Roman and Dean watched them all leave, as soon as the door closed they both busted out laughing. "Oh man, that poor kid doesn't stand a chance with those nerds!"

"AJ's gonna eat him alive," Roman agreed. "You are going to hell Ambrose."

"And I'm loving every minute of it!"

"Alright, what did you want to work on?" Roman asked.

"Oh, we need to convince administration that we need to order more CCTV cameras to eliminate all the blind spots you uncovered."

"And someone sneaking in and setting a fire on the property isn't enough to convince them?" Roman asked.

Dean shook his head, "Sadly, no. So I need you to come to this meeting with me and do the talking or I will wind up getting myself fired."

"So, what you are saying is, that you need me to save your soft ass again?" Roman mocked his friend, "What's in it for me?"

"Seriously? What's in it for you?" Dean tried to act offended, "Listen big man…."

"Ha! You got nothing!"

"Nope, I got nothing. Are you coming or not?"

"Whatever, let's go."

* * *

Violet, Seth and Antonio divided up the areas that needed to be checked out. Not surprisingly, AJ locked herself in her office and put Violet in charge of everything. Seth inspected the chemical storage areas, Antonio took care of the office space and Violet took charge of the lab. Both men finished first and went over to see if she needed help.

"Everything looks OK, I am not sure how much of yesterday's samples we can salvage though," Violet said shaking her head, "I'll have to figure out what we'll wind up having to skip and make some phone calls."

"Well, the only phone in this place that works is in AJ's office, so, I am not sure how you are going to get that done." Seth said.

Antonio handed them both a piece of chocolate, "I just had some, it survived the tragedy."

The trio just stood there looking around until Seth spoke up first, "I say we break for lunch and then crank up the radio and get all this shit done before quitting time."

"Sounds good to me." Violet said, "Pizza?"

* * *

It was a long day, Roman was surprised how hard it was to convince those suits to allocate the money they needed for more security cameras and to give the approval to hire some more security guards. You'd think someone setting a fire on their property would prove the need for these things. He walked into the lab looking for Violet, he left some things at her place and he wanted to get started training her. He found her sitting in the break area with her head down on the table, he put his hand on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry, Vi, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok, are we still going to train tonight?"

Roman looked at her skeptically, "Are you sure? You look exhausted."

"Yes, I am sure. Let's stop back at my place so that I can get changed."

As they headed to the gym, Roman tentatively asked a question that had been on his mind for a while, "So, Vi, tell me more about Jake, how did things start to break down between you two? What triggers him to go ape shit?"

Violet chewed her lower lip and started out the window, "Well, at first things were great. Then slowly he started having problems with things. If I made chicken, he wanted beef. If I made baked potatoes, he wanted rice. If I wore jeans, they weren't tight enough. So, I got tighter jeans and then they were too tight. He was just never happy with anything that I did."

Roman nodded, "I think I understand."

They drove the rest of the way to the gym in silence. Finally they got on the mat and Roman started with some simple drills, he would put her in holds and she'd break them, it was all textbook. Right here with him, she was calm, cool and collected, her brain was firing on all cylinders. But, he knew from the way she reacted in the lab during the fire, that she would panic when the time came. He had to test her, make her trust her instincts.

Violet was feeling pretty good, she knew how to get free no matter how someone attacked her. She put the lid back on her water bottle when suddenly Roman grabbed her by the wrist, twisted her arm behind her back and pinned her against the wall pressing his body against hers.

"How do you get me off of you?" He asked.

She tried to raise her knee, but he blocked it. She tried to move her other arm, but he blocked that too. The more she squirmed the tighter his grip became. "I can't, I can't do it. Let me go."

"No." He stared into her big brown eyes, "Break the hold."

Violet tried again, everything she could think of, but nothing, she couldn't get Roman to loosen his grip, it seemed like the harder she tried, the harder he held her. She was done, there was no way out of it, she wasn't as good as she thought she was. If Jake got his hands on her she would be dead. "I can't." she whispered.

"You can't? Look at me Violet!" She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. "You aren't good enough to find your way out if this hold? You have a blue belt, maybe you aren't good enough for that belt."

Violet was shocked, tears started streaming down her face, she couldn't believe it, Roman sounded just like Jake. "You aren't good enough." He repeated in low growl.

Something snapped in Violet's head, she had no idea what she did or how she did it, but the next thing she knew, Roman was on his ass on the mat and she was standing in front of him, "I am good enough, Jake. You are the one who isn't good enough!" She kicked him in the shin for good measure and started to storm off.

Roman jumped up from the floor and chased after her, "You did it Violet! I"m so proud of you! You were great!"

"What?" She stopped, "But you said…"

"Shh, Vi, honey, I know what I said, I needed to get you good and mad, you needed to be angry in order to really know what you are capable of. And Violet, you are capable of kicking that little punk's ass."

"You didn't mean it? You don't really think…"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead, "No, Violet, I didn't mean a single word I said back there. I knew you could do it, you just needed to know that you could do it."

She rested her sweaty head against his equally sweaty chest, "Thank you Roman."

He was just about to answer her when his stomach growled, she laughed, "Ok, I get the point, let's shower and meet by the car. Will you allow me to treat you to dinner?"

"No way!" He said.

"But I can kick your ass!" She said poking him in the chest.

"You can kick my ass all you want, but you are not paying for dinner." He said taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. "Meet me by the car in 20 minutes."

Exactly 20 minutes later they were in the car headed towards the diner. Roman was entertaining Violet with stories about his older brother and all his cousins. Violet's laughing was music to his ears, he told story after story of them getting into trouble and managing to talk their way out of getting their asses beat by their fathers. He made a left turn near the diner when he noticed a pickup truck that had been behind them since they left the gym parking lot. He drove past the diner and made another turn.

"Uh, Roman? Aren't we going to the diner?" Violet asked.

"Change of plans, call your buddies in the police department. Someone has been following us since we left the gym."

Violet pulled out her cell phone and started to dial when Roman swerved, the pickup had pulled along side them and was trying to run them off the road. Violet yelled as much information into the phone as fast as she could as soon as the dispatcher picked up but all of a sudden the truck crashed into them. Violet screamed and then they were enveloped in darkness.


End file.
